Archive for the ALMR Category

New data released by ALMR shows that hotels across the UK enjoyed another welcome boost in revenue per available room (RevPAR) during the peak holiday month of August. The figures showed positive growth for the hotel industry across Europe, including the UK, which increased RevPAR by 4.6% compared with the same month the previous year, despite occupancy remaining relatively flat. RevPAR figures for the year to date (vs 2016) show a growth of 7.8%, outperforming the European average of 5.8%. Average daily rates (ADR) for UK hotels registered an increase of 4.5% in August against the European average of 4.2%.

UK industry must be given a dedicated hospitality minister to deal with the sector’s ‘uncertainty’ during the country’s discussions to leave the EU, says the ALMR. ALMR chief executive Kate Nicholls will speak at today’s ALMR Autumn Conference, calling upon the government to appoint the role. Nicholls says: “UK businesses are facing an unprecedented period of political and economic instability. Uncertainty, chiefly prompted by Brexit, is undermining businesses’ attempts to plan and invest and we need clear action from the government to address this. “There is need for a national role to span these issues and ensure that crucial businesses

Hotels across the UK enjoyed a welcome boost in revenue per available room (RevPAR) and occupancy rates during July, the beginning of the peak holiday season, data by ALMR shows. British hotels in the maintained steady occupancy in July, with figures of 86% which were up by 0.3 points compared to June. Due to increased prices, RevPAR grew by 5.3% compared to the same month last year. The results tally with recent figures from VisitBritain which showed that the overall number of overseas visits to the UK for the first half of 2017 was a record-breaking 19.1 million, up 9%

The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) and the British Hospitality Association (BHA) have responded to the government’s plans to assess the economic contribution of EU migrants in the UK. The Home Office has launched an independent review into the impact of EU migrants on the UK economy following suggestions that new rules could be made for different industries. The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) will consider whether employing EU nationals leads to under-investment in certain areas of the economy, as well as the benefits and social costs of people from abroad moving to the UK. Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive of

The ALMR, BBPA and BHA gave evidence to the Low Pay Commission last Wednesday highlighting increasing costs that threaten to undermine further investment. Kate Nicholls, chief of ALMR, noted that investment needed to be made into staff members and sector job creation, suggesting that it had slowed down in the last 18 months due to “economic and currency pressure” as well as regulatory costs. Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of BBPA added that the current National Living Wage cost the industry £34m in 2016, and the increase to £7.50 could push that figure up to £52m. Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive of